Bury Your Dead-Kate and Jethro stepped out of the elevator hand in hand and made their way to the squad room. Ziva and McGee were at their desks, but Tony’s was empty.
“Where’s DiNozzo” Gibbs asks as he makes his way to his desk, Kate in tow.
“ I have no idea. He did not show for drinks last night, he’s not answering his home phone or his cell phone. Do you have the number to his second cell phone” Ziva asked. Kate looked surprised.
“ Tony has to cell phones?” she asked Ziva.
“ Yes, one for each ear” she replied. Kate still looked confused. She turned to Gibbs who just shook his head.
“ How about you go home” Gibbs told Kate.
“ What about you?” she asked. He looked from McGee to Ziva.
“ No, we’ve got work to do” he told her.
“ Like what?” Kate asked. It was Saturday and they were at work without an active case.
“ Like why would the CIA be after the director” Ziva said coming out from her desk. McGee stood up. Kate got the idea that she should go home and wait for he husband. They have obviously been involved in things he hasn’t talked about and she doesn’t want to be caught in it. She went to kiss Gibbs on the cheek when the director walked in.
“ McGee I want you to triangulate a cell number” she said.
“ Sure” McGee headed for his desk.
“ 025550177”.
“ DiNozzo in trouble?” Gibbs asked as he followed McGee.
“ I knew it” Ziva said. Kate didn’t want to leave now, not knowing that Tony could be in trouble.
“ The woman Tony has been seeing, Jeanne Benoit, is La Grenouille’s daughter”. No one could believe what they were hearing.
“ You did plan to tell us at some point?” Gibbs asked, now pissed that his senior field agent may be in danger just so the director could get revenge.
“ I want this fed to MTAC and I want satellite coverage” she ordered then left the squad room. Gibbs turned back to Kate.
“ Kate go home” he ordered. She shook her head.
“ No, not until I know Tony is safe”. Gibbs couldn’t argue with her.
They all make their way into MTAC. They watch the screen as they follow Tony’s car through the streets of D.C. Kate stands next to Gibbs, watching intently. In an instant Tony’s car exploded.
“ Oh my god” Ziva gasped standing from the desk next to McGee.
“ Tony” Kate cried grabbing Gibbs’ arm.
Gibbs sat a hysterical Kate down at his desk.
“ First the plague, now this. How…how could you let her do this. She killed Tony” she said through small sobs. McGee and Ziva watched on in shock as they grabbed their gear.
“ It’ll be ok. Do you want me to take you home?” he asked in a soothing voice. She shook her head.
“ Ok. We’ll be back soon” he said then kissed her forehead. He stood up and saw the director waiting for them.
Kate had returned home when the team came back with Tony’s things and a body. She had been watching the news bulletins all day. It was now getting close to 9pm when she heard a knock on the door. She threw the blanket off her and opened the door and froze.
“ I was told to come see you” Tony said with a smile. Kate finally moved and threw her arms around him.
“ I have never been so glad in my life to see you” she told him. He hugged her tight.
“ I can tell” he chuckled. She pulled back and invited him in.
“ Do you want some coffee, or cold drink” she asked, wiping a tear that had fallen.
“ I’m fine” he said with a gentle smile. She ushered him into the lounge room and ordered him to sit.
“ Tony, why did you do it?” she asked softly. He shrugged.
“ Getting close to beautiful woman, how could I have given up a mission like that”. She could see the hurt in his eyes, even though he was trying so hard to hide it.
“ But it back fired. You fell in love with her didn’t you?” she asked softly. He just nodded his head.
“ I’m sorry Tony, I really am”.
“ Hey, that’s life I guess” he said, again trying to lift the mood.
“ So has Gibbs left yet?” she asked changing the subject.
“ Yeah, I thought he would be here. I guess he got caught up with the director” he said with a shrug. She nodded.
“ How is he by the way? I mean being married again?” he asked. She smiled.
“ He’s great”.
“ Really? So will I be Uncle Tony in the near future?” he asked with a grin. Kate laughed.
“ Well I don’t know about that”. Tony laughed too. He could never see Gibbs as a father, but maybe with Kate as the mother. Stranger things have happened.
“ I should get home. It’s been a hell of a day” Tony said getting up.
“ Indeed it has” Kate walked him out.
“ Tony I am glad you’re alive. We all are, even if we don’t say it” she said with a smile then gave him a hug.
“ Thanks Kate. See you later” he said then left.
Ex-File-“ Stephanie Bronwyn Flynn?” Gibbs asked.
“ Yeah” Major Swagger answered.
“ You know her?” Col. Mann asked Gibbs. He turned around .
“ Uh huh. I was married to her” he whispers.
Tony couldn’t keep this news to himself. Once it was clear he ran for the elevator and up one level to see Kate.
“ Good morning Kate” he said cheerfully standing in front of her desk. She looked up quickly then back down at her paperwork.
“ Is there something you needed Tony?” she asked.
“ No”.
“ Then why are you here?” she asked.
“ Well as you already know we are working with Col. Mann again” he started.
“ No I didn’t actually” she cut in.
“ Oh. Well we are”
“ Is that all you have to tell me?” she asked finally looking up at him. He was smiling ear to ear.
“ Nope. Our material witness, Stephanie Flynn, is Gibbs ex-wife number three” he said trying to contain himself. Kate was speechless. He mouth was moving but nothing was coming out. She looked away from Tony trying to gather up her thoughts.
“ Thanks for the heads up” she tells him. He nods.
“ Don’t you have work to do”.
“ Right. Well see ya” he says then leaves. She lets out a sigh. Then puts her head down to work.
“ You going to be ok?” Balboa asks. She looks up at him.
“ Yeah. There is three of them, we were bound to run into one of them eventually” she says with a little humour in her voice.
“ That’s true. If you need anything, just ask” he tells her. She nods and gets back to work.
“ Still decaf” Gibbs asks as he enters the interview room holding two coffees.
“ We need to talk” Stephanie says getting up from her chair.
“ The Col. Is conducting the interview” he tells her.
“ I’m done” Col. Mann says getting up from the chair and leaving the two alone.
“ Why are you targeting my boyfriend? You couldn’t make me happy so you won’t let me be happy with anyone else, is that it?”
“ No”
“ Then what are you doing?”
“ What I’ve always had to do Stephanie, my job”
“ Look Eric didn’t do this and I don’t know what evidence you have that makes you think he did but you are wrong. Just don’t screw this up for me Jethro”
“ It’s not about you”
“ It was never about me was it?”
“ Ah boss, Abby needs to see us” McGee says interrupting the conversation.
“ I’m happy you found somebody. I’ll send an Agent down to escort you out” he tells Stephanie then leaves for Abby’s lab.
“ Yeah she can go home” Gibbs tells the director. Stephanie enters the elevator, Kate already inside. She instantly notices the redhead. She doesn’t say anything but can’t help but feel a little jealous. She can see why Gibb married her, she was gorgeous. Long legs, thin waist, plump lips and natural red hair. She was the exact opposite of Kate. Maybe that was a good thing. Three failed marriages to redheads, maybe a brunette will be more lucky.
Kate sat her desk typing away.
“ Kate”. She looked up and saw Balboa standing over her.
“ Yeah” she said, forcing a smile.
“ You know Gibbs’ ex-wife is here?” he asked. She gave a slight nod.
“ I ran saw her in the elevator on my way to lunch” she told him.
“ Did you say anything to her?” he asked. He wasn’t trying to be noisy, just trying to see if she was ok. He never had to worry about running into his wife’s ex-boyfriends or anything like that so he wouldn’t know what she was going through, especially with Gibbs as a husband. Kate shook her head.
“ Nope. I wouldn’t even know what to say, and I don’t think meeting your ex’s new wife during a murder investigation is what she needs right now” Kate said trying to sound light hearted. Balboa nodded.
“ Well if you need sometime, just ask” he said then made his way to his desk.
Gibbs ran down the basement stairs, dragging Kate down with him.
“ I thought we were going out to diner, not spending the night in the basement again” Kate laughed. Gibbs came to a halt as he saw someone already in the basement. Kate almost ran into him. Her smile faded as she saw the red head from the elevator standing by the boat.
“ Hello Stephanie” Gibbs said still surprised to see her there. He was actually hoping he could keep Kate away from Stephanie.
“ Still not locking your door Jethro” Stephanie replied. Gibbs could feel that Kate was uncomfortable standing there. Stephanie knew she wasn’t wanted.
“ Well I just stopped by to give you this. I found them about six years ago” she said dropping Gibbs’ dog tags into his hand. He holds them up.
“ I thought I lost them” he says. Kate feels some memories starting to surface and feels it best she left.
“ I’m going to, um, go up” she starts to say turning towards the stairs.
“ No, no, it’s ok. I’m not staying so” Stephanie said stopping Kate where she was.
“ I’ll walk you out” Gibbs mumbles, placing his dog tags on the boat. Gibbs walks past Kate and waits for Stephanie. She turns to Kate.
“ Good luck” she says with a sincere smile.
“ Thanks” Kate replies, with a small smile of her own. Stephanie and Gibbs made their way up the stairs. Kate watches them go then wonders around the basement. She picks up his dog tags and inspects them, running a gentle finger over the engraving. She smiles as she puts them back and turns towards the bench. She cracks open a beer on the bench and sees an old tape player. She has never seen it before. She brushed of the saw dust and saw a white tape already in side. She presses play and a gentle tune on the piano fills the basement. Kate smiles to herself as she listens to it. She moves over to the boat and takes the sanding block that she used last night. She starts to sand but stops when she hears a sweet giggle on the tape.
‘What do you think Daddy, I came in second place’
‘You would have been proud of her Jethro’. She knows who it is instantly. She freezes and turns to face the tape player.
‘I miss you Daddy. When you get home I will be really good at it. I promise. I love you’
‘Kiss for Daddy’
‘Mwa mwa’
‘Love you daddy, love you’
‘Bye Jethro, we miss you’
Kate can’t believe what she just heard. She now knows why he never talked about it. Even just hearing his daughters sweet voice was pulling at her heart strings. She turned around and saw Gibbs sitting on the steps. She stares into his eyes, her own filled with unshed tears. She slowly makes her way over to him. She stands on the step in front of him. They don’t say anything, no words can stop the hurt that he is feeling now at hearing his daughter and first wife’s voice. She doesn’t break his eye contact. She reaches out with a gentle hand and slowly strokes his cheek. She is taken by surprise when she felt his arms encircle her and pull her close. She wraps her arms around him best she can and leans down and places a kiss on his head. Kate knows that she can never make it stop hurting but she knows she can stop it from happening again. This was their silent agreement to never let each other go.
Requiem- Like every other morning Gibbs drops Kate off at her squad room before heading down to his own.
“ See you tonight” she tells him then gives him a quick kiss goodbye. This time Abby he shared the elevator with Abby who was bugging him for a photo to put on her phone, so when he called it would pop up.
“ Boss there is a young woman waiting to see you. I sent her the lounge” McGee interrupts them.
“ Name?” Gibbs asks.
“ Maddie Tyler”.
“ About?”.
“ 22, 23. Sorry, uh personal . She wouldn’t say” McGee told him. Gibbs went to head for the lounge, not before Abby pulled him up for another photo.
“ Oh hi” Maddie greets him as he enters he lounge.
“ Special Agent Gibbs” he introduces himself to the young blonde.
“ I know” she says with a smile.
“ I, uh I mean I remember” she explains. Gibbs looks at her, he has no clue who she is.
“ But you probably don’t. Maddie. Maddie Tyler” she holds out her for Gibbs to shake.
“ It’s been a long time. I used to come over to your house. I was Kelly’s best friend. Or I, at least remember myself being her best friend. I like to think she thought so too” she tells him.
“ You lived on base?” Gibbs asks her. She nods.
“ Marine brat. My dad was an officer”.
“ I remember” he says as he finally takes a seat. Maddie follows his actions.
“ Good man” he recalls. Maddie made small talk.
“ I guess you’re wondering why I’m here” she finally said.
“ This is going to sound so stupid. I need some help and you’re the only person I know who” she starts.
“ Problems?” he questions.
“ Guy problems. Crazy guy problems. I went on a couple of dates with him, about 18 months ago. He’s a marine. Went to Iraq, just got back a week ago. He came to see me. You know, wanted to get things started again. But I mean there was nothing to start, because nothing have ever gotten started, I tried to explain that, but he kept insisting. He was desperate to move in with me and now when I say no, wasn’t what he wanted to hear” she explains everything.
“ He stalking you?” he asks. She nods.
“ Did you report him to the police?” he asks.
“ They said there was nothing they could do. It’s only been a week” she told him.
“ He threaten you?”. She nodded again.
“ He hurt you?”. She looks down to her arm and rolls up her sleeve revealing a nasty bruise.
“ I don’t think he meant to. He just kind a grabbed me, but he is really freaking me out”.
“ What’s this marines name?”.
“ Rooty Haas”.
“ Where can I find him?”.
“ Outside my house”. Gibbs decides to take a trip to her house to see how bad things are. They walk towards the elevators and Abby captures them with her phone camera. He doesn’t say anything but she knows it wasn’t the right time. The team get extremely curious to know how Maddie Tyler is to Gibbs. McGee looks her up on MySpace and that’s when they see it. The part of her page dedicated to her best friend ‘Kelly’.
“ Gibbs’ daughter was named Kelly” Abby said.
“ One in the same” McGee commented.
“ Mystery solved” Tony said. They all feel sympathy towards Gibbs, having his daughter’s best friend show up asking for help. Abby stepped out from behind McGee’s desk.
“ I’m going to visit Kate” she announced and disappeared.
“ Great report Kate” Balboa praised her. She smiled. She never got praises like that from Gibbs but she didn’t mind now that they were married and he praised her for other things she did for him.
“ Is there nothing you can’t do?” Chuck asked sarcastically. Kate dropped her pen and clasped her hands together and leaned over her desk.
“ Yeah. I can’t touch my tongue to my nose” she said with a laugh. Chuck couldn’t help but laugh watching her trying touch her nose with her tongue.
“ Oh yeah that’s very attractive. I can clearly see why Gibbs couldn’t let you go” he teased her. Kate sat back in her chair.
“ Shut up” she said throwing a paper ball at him.
“ Wow, just like old times huh” Abby said as she watched the two in amusement.
“ Hey Abs, what are you doing up here?” Kate asked, ignoring her comment. Abby walked over to her desk.
“ I wanted to show you this” Abby held out her phone with the photo she took of Gibbs and Maddie. Kate looked at it confused.
“ Is that his new girlfriend or something?” she asked in light tone. Abby closed her phone.
“ No, her name is Maddie Tyler and she is, was Kelly’s best friend” Abby explained to her. Kate fell silent. She rested her hands in her lap.
“ Is he ok?” she asked softly. She saw Abby shrug.
“ He left with her about 10 minutes ago. She told McGee that she had to see him and that it was personal” Abby explained. Kate nodded her head. She then looked up at Abby and forced a smile.
“ I’m sure everything is fine. Can you call me if anything changes?” Kate asked. Abby nodded.
“ Sure thing. Are you ok?” Abby asked.
“ Yeah, I’m fine” she smiled. Abby nodded again then left. Kate let out a loud sigh and ran her hands through her hair.
“ Everything ok?” Balboa asked her. She looked over at him.
“ Yeah. I…do you ever think how hard it would to be loose your only child?” she asked him. She knew Balboa had a little girl of his own.
“ Every day and I don’t think I could survive” he answers.
“ So how does he do it? He marries 4 women after his wife and daughter are murdered” she says shaking her head. She is still surprised at how string Gibbs is.
“ He’s a marine Kate. He’s mourned for them and has moved on, because he knows that’s what they would want him to do. That’s what I would want Angie to do to” he said. Chuck didn’t know when their conversation had gotten so serious and he didn’t like it. They all knew how dangerous their jobs were and he didn’t like to be reminded of that, especially when his fiancé was pregnant.
“ Ok, change of subject. Who’s turn is it to buy lunch?” he asked, Kate and Balboa couldn’t help but smile at him.
“ I can’t remember who took that photo” Kelly said with a smile as she handed the photo album to Gibbs. He looked at it and smiled as the memories of that day came flooding back.
“ I did” he tells her.
“ I never did find out what was so funny” he said handing the album back to Maddie.
“ She never told you? Sorry”.
“ I shipped out to Iraq that month. That’s time I saw them” he opened up to her.
“ It was a time capsule. We had filled this suitcase with all of our treasures, Kelly’s mostly and buried it in your backyard. We were sitting on it”. Gibbs laughed.
“ I never stopped crying” Maddie told him, teary eyed.
“ Still think about her after all these years. Wonder what she would be like” she said.
“ Like you” he answered. They shared a soft smile.
“ Here you should have this” Maddie started pulling the photo out.
“ No, that’s your memory”.
“ Our memory” she said holding the photo out to him. He took it off her and tucked it in his jacket pocket before leaving.
Kate was packing up her things to leave when her phone started to ring.
“ Todd, I mean Gibbs” she corrected herself. It had been months since they were married and she still wasn’t used to her new name.
“ Kate you need to come to the hospital” Tony’s voice came over the receiver.
“ What? Why, what’s happened?” she asked quickly.
“ He’s fine “ he started to explain.
“ How dine can he be if he’s at the hospital” Kate almost screamed into the phone.
“ I’m fine. I’ll see you at home” Gibbs’ voice now came through the phone.
“ Jethro what happened?” she asked relieved to hear his voice.
“ I’ll explain when you’re home. I’ll see you soon” he said then he was gone. Kate closed her phone and made a mad dash to the elevator. She arrived home within minutes. She had just stepped inside the house when she heard a car pull up. She turned and saw Gibbs getting out of the car. She dropped her things and ran across the yard and threw her arms around him.
“ Are you ok?” she asked.
“ I’m fine Kate. Let’s just get inside”. She finally agreed and they walked inside hand in hand. They sat down on the couch and he explained everything to her. She gave him another hug and told him to go shower and she would get a start on diner. After his shower Gibbs ran down the stairs to the basement and saw the little metal box sitting on the work bench, right where he had left it. He takes the photo that Maddie gave him and the one that Abby had printed out of him and Maddie earlier that day. He left them on the bench, grabbed the spade and metal box and headed for the back yard to re-bury it. Kate heard the noise from the kitchen, put down the knife and the potato in her hand and made her way to the back door. She saw Gibbs stand up from the garden, spade still in hand. He looked up and saw her worried face. He smiled at her, dropped the spade and made her way over to her.
“ Are you ok?” she asked softly. He studied her face for what seemed like forever before he simply nodded his head. He took her face in both his hands and kissed her.
“ Fine” he replied. She smiled and threw her arms around him. He nuzzled his head into her neck and took a deep breath, breathing in her lovely scent. He pulled back and looked at her. He gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
“ I love you” he said softly. She smiled.
“ I love you too” she replied then leaned up and kissed him again.
“ How’s that dinner coming?” he asked.
“ It’ll be faster if I had some help” she teased. He gave her one more quick kiss then pulled her back into the kitchen.
Corporal Punishment- Kate rushed down to Gibbs’ squad room when she got a call from Abby saying they had all been beaten up by an escaped mental patient. Kate walked in to see Ziva standing over Abby, who was in Ziva’s seat.
“ Abby calm down. Tony has a broken nose, McGee has a dislocated shoulder, but we caught the guy” Ziva told Abby.
“ And what about Jethro?” Kate suddenly asked interrupted their conversation. Ziva looked up at Kate and that’s when Kate saw Ziva’s face.
“ Oh my god. You guys must have really pissed him off” Kate said.
“ Gibbs is fine and yes you could say that, but the man is suffering from post-traumatic stress” Ziva told Kate. She nodded her understanding. She remembers back to the young woman Jessica who was suffering post-traumatic stress when her fiancé was killed in Iraq.
“ Where’s Jethro?” Kate asked looking around the squad room.
‘If he is alright then why isn’t he here” she thought to herself looking around the squad room.
“ He is interrogation”. Kate nodded.
“ Tell him to call me when he is done” Kate said, Ziva nodded and left to return to her own squad room.
Kate entered the squad room at the end of the day. She saw Tony at his desk, checking out his nose, yet again. McGee trying to type with only one arm and Gibbs at his desk, definitely not looking happy. She went straight for his desk.
“ Are you ok? I heard and when Ziva told me you were ok, I didn’t quite believe her” she started to ramble. He stood from his desk and came around to stand in front of her.
“ See for yourself” he said. She quickly checked his face, his chest, arms and hands.
“ Ok, now I’m satisfied” she said with a smile. She knew he didn’t like showing affection at work but she couldn’t help it. She leaned up and kissed him. When she pulled back she had to wipe the slight pink that she left on his lips.
“ You need to start being more careful” she told him.
“ Hey can I get some of that attention, I am the one with the broken nose” she heard Tony call from his desk. She smiled up at Gibbs.
“ Pain killers” he whispered to her. She nodded and turned to face Tony with a smile. She made her way over to his desk. He turned in his chair to face. She leaned down so they were eye level.
“ Poor baby” she teased,, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then left. Tony watched her leave and then looked over at Gibbs.
“ You don’t even have a scratch and you get tongue action, now how is that fair” he complained.
“ She’s my wife remember” Gibbs said as he exited the squad room.
“ Oh right I forgot” Tony said more to himself then to the others.
Kate snuggled closer to Gibbs. Her bare leg tangling with his. He leaned down and kissed he head.
“ I can’t believe he was drugging himself” she suddenly said.
“ Yeah well, some people will do anything” he said, kissing her forehead.
“ He wanted to be a marine, but yet he did the one thing that would stop him” she said. Gibbs was now regretting telling her the outcome of the case. Though the ‘my husband is so sweet’ sex was well worth it.
“ Kate” he started, but she kept talking.
“ Didn’t he think of the damage those drugs could have done to him” she said. He knew that words will not stop her. He rolled over so he was now on top of her.
“ Your biggest problem, is not knowing when to stop talking” he said then kissed her lips.
“ What, are you going to divorce me cause I talk too much?” she mocked. She saw the smile on his face.
“ Not even close” he replied. He looked at her hungry for her body again. He trailed one hand down her naked body. Her breath caught in her throat as his finger found her sensitive clit.
“ Unless of course that’s what you want” he said in a hoarse tone.
“ God no” she breathed. He smiled and leaned down so their lips were barely touching.
“ Good” he whispered then kissed her.
Judgement day-
D.C
Kate walks into the bullpen and sees McGee at his desk
“ Hey McGee” she says cheerfully.
“ Hey Kate” he replies.
“ Have you seen Gibbs?” she asks him.
“ Uh, yeah he left after I gave him a package from Fornell”.
“ Fornell?” she asked confused.
“ Yeah”.
“ Did you see what was in it?” she asked. McGee suddenly started feeling nervous.
“ Uh, no I didn’t. Sorry Kate” he says.
“ Its ok McGee. I’ll see you later” she said and headed for the elevator. Kate pulled out her phone as soon as she entered the elevator she grabbed her phone and dialled Gibbs’ number.
“ Yeah, Gibbs” he answered.
“ Hey, where are you?” she asked.
“ At home” he answers.
“ Why? What’s going on Jethro?” he asks. She hears the ding and steps off the elevator.
“ Just looking into some files. Don’t worry so much. Call you later” he said.
“ Jethro you can talk” she started but he had already hung up. She looked at her phone disappointed.
Gibbs ran down the stairs of the basement and opened up the file he had gotten from Fornell. It was the investigation into Le Grenouille’s death.
Kate is at her desk working, trying to get her mind off Gibbs and what he is up to. She knows he is with the director, she is in L.A with Tony and Ziva.
“ So Agents DiNozzo and David in L.A” Chuck said breaking the silence.
“ They aren’t there on vacation Chuck, they are there with the director” she pointed out.
“ What, you don’t think anything will happen?” he asked with a smirk.
“ The only thing that will happen is that the director fire them both” she said with a little laugh.
L.A
Ziva was lying on a sun chair by the pool reading a book when Tony came up behind her and took a few pictures of her in her bikini.
“ You’re googling, again” she tells him.
“ A book, how McGeeish of you” he says taking another picture.
“ You’re in my sun”
“ You’ll thank me later. Come on lets go”
“ If you value that hand I suggest you back away slowly. I’m not going anywhere”
“ Director gave us the day off”
“ Yes and she can just as easily change her mind. We need to stay close to home base, just in case”
“ We have cell phones Ziva, if she needs to get in touch with us she’ll call us”
“ What do you have in mind?”.
“ A cruise down Sunset Boulevard”
D.C
Kate is packing up her things ready to leave. She hasn’t seen or heard from her husband all day.
“ Night guys” she calls as she quickly runs off to the elevator.
She arrives home and sees that Gibbs’ car is in the driveway but no lights are on. She hurries inside, drops her things by the front door and makes her way to the basement. She sees him sitting at the bench with only a small desk lamp on.
“ I’ve been calling you all day, is everything ok?” she asks as she crosses the basement to him. She sees him but a glass of bourbon down it makes her hesitate for a moment. She knows that he only drinks when something is really bugging him. He puts the photo down and turns to face her.
“ Yeah” he simply replies. Kate doesn’t believe him.
“ What are you doing down here in the dark?” she asks.
“ Looking over some things” he says turning his attention back to the photo. Kate stepped closer to him and saw the file that was spread on the bench.
“ The Grenouille case. Really Jethro?” she says. He doesn’t look or answer her.
“ The director was cleared and so was Tony. Why are you obsessing over nothing?” she asks.
“ We missed something” he tells her. Kate shakes her head and starts to head back upstairs.
“ The only thing your missing is your mind” she says softly. She stomps up the stairs to get a start on diner.
It’s been an hour since Kate left the basement. Gibbs was still so absorbed in finding out the truth that he ignored her call for diner. It was when he took a closer look at the shell of one of his own bullets that he realised the markings where the sae as the one in the photo. He had to call Jenny.
L.A
“You’re late” Gibbs says as he refuels his car.
“ Least of my problems” Mike Franks says.
“ Well I got another one for you. Vance knows there was someone else at the diner”.
“ My tired tracks. I’m not the only one with a problem. Jenny died protecting someone Mike tells Gibbs.
“ Who?”.
“ You”.
D.C
Kate runs into the squad room and sees McGee at his desk and Abby pacing in front of him.
“ Call him again” Abby orders.
“ I’ve already left Tony five messages” he tells her.
“ Call Ziva”.
“ Eight messages” he answers.
“ What’s going on?” Kate asks interrupting them.
“ Kate, what are you doing here?” Abby asks shocked.
“ I’m trying to find out why my husband up and left for L.A this morning” she answered urgently.
“ If something bad has happened I’m sure we would of” McGee starts trying to keep the two women calm, he is interrupted by a ding on his computer.
“ What is it?” Abby asks.
“ An email from Tony”. Abby and Kate come around McGee’s desk to get a look at the email.
“ Photo’s. Tire prints. Tony wants me to find out what car it came from A.S.A.P” he tells them.
“ That’s it? Are they working a case?” Abby exclaims, mad that that’s all it said. No information what so ever.
“ Am I interrupting something?” Ducky asks.
“ Just Abby’s nervous breakdown” McGee states. Kate hits him.
“ I’m sure everyone is fine” Ducky says happily.
“ Then why did Jethro leave without explaining what was going on” Kate tells Ducky. Abby meanwhile is watching Ducky closely in case he too is in on it.
“ Well Tony just emailed me, it looks like they started working some kind of case” McGee tells Ducky.
“ So there’s your answer, their working on a case. Common courtesy is the first casualty in a Jethro war” Ducky says before his phone starts to ring.
“ Who is it?” Abby asks. He pulls out his phone and shows Abby, she reaches for the phone but Ducky pulls it back.
“ It’s for me” he then walks towards the window for some privacy. Kate and Abby both share a look.
“ Jethro” Ducky greets him.
“ Ducky” Gibbs says but doesn’t continue.
“ I know I normally dominate the conversation but as you called me” Ducky states.
“ Jenny’s dead” Gibbs tells him. Ducky stops. He really wasn’t expecting to hear that.
“ Yesterday” Gibbs tells him
“ Oh dear. I…I can’t believe that it so” Ducky starts, thinking that her illness got her quicker then what he had thought.
“ She was murdered. Fire fight” Gibbs tells him. By now McGee has joined Kate and Abby.
“ Tony and Ziva?” Ducky asks.
“ Not involved” .
“ What can I do?” Ducky asks.
“ Five bodies on their way”
“ I assume one of them is”
“ Yeah. Tell McGee and Abby I’m gonna need them. And tell Kate” he says with a sigh.
“ Jethro”.
“ Yeah, I know Duck”. With that Gibbs was gone. Ducky closed his phone and turned back to the three anxious faces that awaited the news. As he walked up to them he couldn’t hide the sadness from his face.
“ Who?” McGee asked. Kate was holding her breath.
“ Jenny” Ducky said. Abby gasped. Kate couldn’t believe it. She let out a big breath. She looked over at Abby who looked like she was about to break down. She turned to her and gave her a big hug
“ It’s going to be ok” she said. Abby pulled back.
“ I’m so tired of this. First Pacci, Tony gets plague, then we almost lose you, Gibbs gets blown up, then it’s Agent Cassidy and now the director. Who’s going to be next?” she says. Before anyone can answers she storms off towards the elevator, heading for the comfort of her lab.
L.A
Ziva is packing the car when Tony gets off the phone to McGee.
“ What?” he asks gruffly.
“ It’s not McGee’s fault” she tells him.
“ No its not” he says throwing a rock. He blames himself for what happened.
D.C
The doors to autopsy opened and Gibbs walked in. Jimmy knew he would want some time with Ducky so he went over to Ducky’s desk and got busy with something else. Gibbs made his way to Jenny’s body bag. Ducky watching him closely. Gibbs reached out and touched her.
“ She was dying Jethro” Ducky said. Gibbs looked at him but didn’t say anything.
“ She knew that the deterioration would have been rapid. Debilitating pain loss of motor skills. As difficult as it is to say, this may have been more merciful”. Gibbs goes to open the bag to get one last look at his friend and ex-lover, but he cant. He leaves quickly. He can’t believe this is happening. He makes a be-line for Kate’s squad room.
Kate is sitting at her desk twirling a pen between her fingers, her mind somewhere else. By now the news of the directors death has filled the building. She doesn’t hear the elevator ding or the familiar footsteps that make their way to the squad room.
“ Kate” Balboa says. Kate looks at him a little stunned. He motions to Gibbs who isn’t looking to good. She follows his gaze and drops her pen and jumps out of her seat as soon as she sees him. She runs to him, throwing her arms around him.
“ Are you ok? I was so worried about you” she says. He doesn’t say anything just hugs her tight. She eventually pulls back and looks at him. She sees the look in his eyes, the look she has only seen once and that was before she fell unconscious when she got shot on the rooftop.
“ Jet I’m so sorry about what happened. If you need me to do anything” she started. He stopped her with a kiss.
“ Just don’t leave me” he whispered. Kate felt her heart ache. She nodded and hugged him again.
“ I’m never leaving you. I love you so much” she said.
“ I love you” he whispered to her. He gave her another quick kiss.
“ I got to go. I’ll see you later” he said, gave her another quick kiss then left. Kate took a few calming breaths and went to sit at her desk.
“ Kate, if you need to you can” Balboa started.
“ No it’s alright. As long as Jethro is hear I will be to. I’ll be fine” she said forcing a smile. Balboa nodded.
Gibbs was down in Abby’s lab. Although they lost the director, there was still work to be done.
“ I barely had a chance to finish unpacking this stuff Gibbs, let alone processing it. I don’t have anything for you” Abby said in a shaky voice as she started organizing all the evidence.
“ You will” Gibbs simply said.
“ I will, and it will be my best work” she said grabbing a box and placing it on the bench.
“ Always is Abs”.
“ It’s different this time. This time it’s for the director. My very best work” she said her voice failing her once again as she took out the directors bloody clothes. She couldn’t take it anymore. She turned to Gibbs who hugged her and let her cry.
“ I try not to be sad” she tells him.
“ It’s ok” he says softly. She finally lets go of him.
“ She was always such a snappy dresser, you know like classy. I never told her that. Why didn’t I tell her that. She would of liked that. She would of smiled. You can’t wait with stuff like that, ‘cause you never know what’s going to happen. I like the way you dress Gibbs. Its masculine and spruce, always with a jacket, see even you smiled” Abby said getting all her feelings out in the open. She lets Tony, Ziva and McGee all know how she thinks about how they dress. It’s sort of her way of coping.
Kate sits at home. She was hoping that Gibbs would be home by now, but with what has happened she was disappointed to find her home empty. She is startled when her phone rings, she doesn’t bother looking at the caller ID.
“ Jethro?” she asks quickly, hoping he is calling to tell her he is safe.
“ Hey, I’ll be home later tonight. I have some things I have to take care of” he tells her in a quiet voice.
“ Where are you? Are you ok?” she asks.
“ I’m…I’ll see you later” he says then hangs up. Kate hates it when he does that. She takes a deep breath to calm herself. And turns the TV on to try and drown out her thoughts, it doesn’t help much
‘This is how he acts when an old friend, colleague and lover dies. He better go crazy if I die. Why am I so jealous? She’s dead. That’s real sympathetic Kate, she was your boss. She was a great boss, great woman. I would of liked her more if she didn’t want my husband’. This went on for a while until an important news headline popped up on the TV screen.
“ These pictures are coming live to us from our ZNN team here in Georgetown. Now the fire is believe to be at the home of the director of a federal agency here in Washington. The alarm was raised by a passer-by who heard an explosion and saw smoke billowing from a downstairs window. By the time the fire trucks arrived the town house was fully engulfed in flames. There has been no word yet if anyone was inside the house at the time when the fire started” the news presenter announced as Kate watched the house in flames. She grabbed her phone and frantically tried calling Gibbs but he wasn’t answering. She was panicking, pacing the room as she dialled and re-dialled his number. She stopped when she heard the front door open and close. She stood still waiting to see the person she longed for. She dropped her phone as she ran to him and threw her arms around him.
“ I’ve been so worried about you. Why didn’t you answer your phone?” she didn’t let him finish before she started again.
“ I saw Jenny’s house on the news. Where you there?” she asked She pulled back to look at him. He starred into her eyes trying to find a way out of answering her but found none. He didn’t know if his voice would work so he just nodded. She could tell he was taking this really hard and didn’t want to push it.
“ The funerals tomorrow” she stated. He nodded again. She could see the question on his face.
“ I’ll be there Jethro, to honour my boss and to be by your side” she assured him. He pulled her to him for another hug. She kissed his cheek and let him go. He stood there frozen as he watched her turn off the TV and come back to him. She took his hand and lead him towards their bedroom.
The funeral was beautiful. Gibbs held onto Kate the whole time. It was also the first time she had seen Tony since he and Ziva got back and he looked like shit. She could see all the guilt on his face. After the service Kate got away from Gibbs and went to check on Tony.
“ Hey” she said softly. He just gave her a small smile.
“ You need to stop blaming yourself. Even if you had followed her it wouldn’t of made a difference” she told him.
“ She would be alive, that would be the difference” he said in a venomous tone.
“ Tony. If you and Ziva had been there we might be saying goodbye to all three of you instead of just one. You did what you were ordered to do” she told him. He was quiet for a while before he spoke.
“ You always were the smart one” he said softly. She smiled at him then wrapped her arms around him in a big hug.
“ Thank you” he whispered and she hugged him tighter. When she pulled back she kissed him on the cheek.
“ Stop blaming yourself, it’s not worth the pain” she told him. He just gave a nod.
The all met up again at HQ and clambered into the elevator. Kate had one hand in Gibbs’, the other was entwined with Abby’s. They were the first to get off. Gibbs kissed Kate goodbye, Jimmy took Abby from Kate as the other disembarked the elevator.
“ I’ll see you guys later” she called as the others waved before the doors closed.
“ Could you have Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee and David come up please” Director Vance said. Soon enough Gibbs, Ziva, Tony and McGee entered his office.
“ Bad few days. Officer David, the liaison position with NCIS has been terminated. You’re going home” Vance said. There was shared looks of shock and disappointment.
“ McGee, I’m moving you across to the cyber-crimes unit. You’ll be working with officer Holsworden starting tomorrow” he continued. Gibbs couldn’t believe what was happening. He was director not even 24 hours and he was splitting up his team.
“ DiNozzo, you’ve been reassigned. Agent afloat USS Ronald Ragan. Pack your bags you fly out tomorrow. Agent Gibbs, meet your new team” Gibbs looks at the three files he is handed. It took all his might not to throw them down and say “Fuck you Director” but he held his tongue. Then a thought crossed his mind.
‘Who’s going to tell Kate? Or worse. Who’s going to tell Abby?’.
Chapter End Notes:
This one took me awhile as i ran out of ideas for the episodes. but i hope you like what i have come up with.